Last Game
The Reds were taken out by the Dodgers yesterday, and have to do the walk-of-shame this morning, losing 14-6.

Next Game
Today, the Reds try to regain their composure, if not their dignity, when they send out their best starter, the one without any professional experience, Mike Leake against the Dodgers’ Vicente Padilla. Game-time is 7:10pm EDT. Watch or listen, if you dare.

Morgan Returns to the Reds
Yesterday, the Reds announced the hiring of former player and Reds great Joe Morgan as a special advisor to baseball operations. Unlike many of those “advisor” positions, this one won’t be just a figurehead.

Morgan will have a role in both the baseball and business side of the Reds. His most extensive work will likely be in community outreach and diversity initiatives. He’ll also support the efforts of the Reds Community Fund and Reds Hall of Fame.

I hope it’s successful. Anything to get more people interested in playing baseball leads to better baseball.

There is a part of me that inhaled sharply upon hearing the news, though. Dusty Baker and Joe Morgan, working together, at last. That’s two forward-thinking baseball minds, right there. And then my mind remembered when Walt Jocketty was hired as a special advisor while Wayne Krivsky was still the GM. This lead to a thought so terrible that it’s difficult to write, but it must be written. What if, like Jocketty was for Krivsky, Morgan replaces Baker?

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have won their first 6 games in their last at-bat. This ties a major league record held by the 1970 San Francisco Giants.

Last Game
The Reds actually won! They broke their 5-game losing streak with a win over the Dodgers, although they continued their streak of being the only team in the majors without a starting pitcher with a win.

Next Game
Aaron Harang tries to prove to himself and the world that he still has something left when he starts for the Reds against Hiroki Kuroda at 7:10m EDT. The game will be on FSN-OH and 700 WLW.

The Question on Everyone’s Minds
You may have heard that Edinson Volquez received a li’l ol’ 50 day suspension yesterday for violating MLB’s drug policy. Volquez released a statement explaining himself.

Prior to the conclusion of last season, my wife and I sought medical advice in Cincinnati with the hope of starting a family. As part of my consultation with the physician, I received certain prescribed medications to treat my condition. As a follow up to our original consultation, my wife and I visited another physician in our home city in the Dominican Republic this past off-season. This physician also gave me certain prescribed medications as part of my treatment. Unfortunately, I now know that the medication the physician in the Dominican gave me is one that is often used to treat my condition, but is also a banned substance under Major League Baseball’s drug policy. As a result, I tested positive when I reported to spring training.

Although I understand that I must accept responsibility for this mistake and have chosen not to challenge my suspension, I want to assure everyone that this was an isolated incident involving my genuine effort to treat a common medical issue and start a family. I was not trying in any way to gain an advantage in my baseball career. I am embarrassed by this whole situation and apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates, and the entire Reds Organization for being a distraction and for causing them any difficulty. I simply want to accept the consequences, learn from the mistake, and continue to strive to be the best person and baseball player I can be.

Upon reading this, I couldn’t help but think, “Did it work?” If this is the truth, can we expect a little Volquez within the next few months?

Regardless, MLB allows players to serve suspensions while on the disabled list, which doesn’t sound like much of a suspension to me. It’s like pulling a prank at the end of a school year and getting kicked out for 3 weeks, but getting to serve that during the summer. Kind of weakens the deterrent. Still, it does work in the Reds favor.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Since he was acquired from Oakland in 2003, Aaron Harang has led the Reds in most pitching statistics, including starts (196), wins (69), innings pitched (1247 1/3), and strikeouts (1,056).

Last Game
The Reds finished their road trip on Sunday by getting swept by the Pirates. Their losing streak is at 5, but thankfully, they had Monday off. It was nice to go one whole day without a loss and without resisting raging against all the bad decisions Dusty Baker makes. Unfortunately, it was just one day off.

Next Game
Homer Bailey goes for the Reds, hoping to make it past 5 innings. The Dodgers counter with Chad Billingsley. All this goes down at 7:10pm EDT.

Pitching’s Bad, Too
As bad as the Reds offense has been, the supposed strength of the team–the starting pitching–has been bad, too. John Fay wrote about that for the Enquirer. Fay lays down a couple key stats about the recently completed disastrous road trip.

• Reds starters allowed 33 runs in 38 1/3 innings (7.75 ERA) as the team went 2-5 on the seven-game road trip that was completed Sunday.
• Reds starters have averaged just more than five innings per start on the road.

To top it all off, the only good starts have come from Mike Leake. No wonder they’ve lost 5 in a row. We’ll get to see if the pitching can step up to the plate, with or without the offense, today.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
4 of the Reds last 6 number 1 draft picks on the active roster. Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and Mike Leake are all with the big league club, while Devin Mesoraco and Yonder Alonso are working their way through the minors.

Last Game
Despite Jay Bruce coming out of his slump in a big way with 2 home runs, the Reds still lost. They ended up being swept by the lowly Pirates, and finished their first road trip of the year going 2-5. And yes, the 2 wins were from the first games of the trip.

Next Game
The Reds have today to think about how badly they’ve been performing. I imagine Dusty Baker will have everyone sitting in various corners of the locker room with dunce caps on their heads. Hopefully, those caps will be laced with the ability to not swing at every pitch, and everyone will be ready to have more patient approaches at the plate when they start a 3-game series at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. Homer Bailey pitches for the Reds, while the Dodgers send out Chad Billingsley.

Head Hunting
With the recent 5-game losing streak, rumblings are beginning concerning Dusty Baker being fired. Redleg Nation posted about it, and John Fay addressed it in a tweet. I wouldn’t get my hopes up yet. The Reds still simply owe him too much money and will want to see as much return on that investment as possible.

Despite my feelings on Baker’s poor managerial status, I do have to wonder why Brook Jacoby isn’t catching any flack. How long has the guy been with the team? Has anyone–other than Joey Votto, who we all know is intrinsically awesome–improved under Jacoby? Jay Bruce certainly hasn’t. This is a team that no longer has Adam Dunn, but somehow is managing to lead the majors in strikeouts. Methinks Jacoby’s seat might be smoking soon.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have been slightly better at home at Great American Ball Park than on the road. In the 7 seasons there, they have won 284, lost 289, and tied once. The last time they were at or above the .500 mark was at 219-219-1.

Last Game
The Reds got mangled by the Fish last night, 10-2. You’d like to blame it on the tired bullpen, or the tired offense, but the Marlins’ bullpen and offense should have been just as tired, because, as you may recall, they played those extra-innings games too. Maybe they, in true Florida style, all go to bed immediately after the game.

Next Game
The Reds travel into Pirate-infested waters hoping Leake won’t sink them. Yar, that sentence be painful to read back over! Mike Leake goes against Zach Duke. Game time 7:10 p.m. at PNC Park.

It’s Going Around
Drew Strubbs sat out for the second game in a row. Dusty Baker says he’ll probably be back for the game on Friday. Meanwhile, Laynce Nix suffered from the dreaded “flu-like symptoms” that took out half the team at one point or another last season. Those guys have got to stop sharing toothbrushes.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The difficulty identifying who’s up to bat or pitching in relief will continue. All of the Reds will wear their number 42 jerseys with no names for a second day in a row because the Pirates had an off-day on Thursday, and didn’t get to participate. Or maybe it’s because they’re TWICE as appreciative of Jackie Robinson.